Method of treating fish



July 192s: 1,677,364

b. D. PEEBLES METHOD OF TREATING FISH Filed Sept. 7, 1927 geoooloo oloooool H INVENTOR. .DA V/D .D. PEEBLES.

g I ljiuxfffilrm ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 17, .1928;

UNITED ,STA TESf PATENT OFFICE.

' DAVID n. rmnns, or noun, cum-01mm.

mrnon or TREATING max.

I Application fled September 'l, 1927. Serial 170. 217,96}.

" I In canneries where sardines are packed it has been found that considerable shrinkage takes place when the sardines are cooked, and further that it is desirable to remove a portion of the oil content of the fish and to preserve the naturally sweet flavor of the sardines.

It is, accordingly, customary to shrink the sardines, cook the flesh and remove a portion of the oil prior to cooling and placing the sardines in the cans and sealing .(after which the final cookingof thebone and sterilizing is done) as flavor and appearance woul otherwise be detrimentally affected. For instance, if sardines were placed in cans without pre-shrinkage and extraction of oil, they would shrink to such a de ee during the cooking operation that su cient space would be produced to permit free movement .of the fish-within the cans. Such movement during shipping and handlin .would cause ecome marred and roken and as considerable oil would also be liberated in the can during the cookin operation, the appearance would be unsatisfactory when the can was opened b the consumer and the product would not e as salable. 4

The most common method employed by canners to insure pre-shrinka e and removal of oil is, briefly stated, as fol ows':

After the fish has been prepared as by scalin remOval of heads, entrails, etc. and

washe they arefirst placed on endless conveyors and passed through a drier to dry off the wash water. and a portion of the'water content in the fish, thereby drying the skin. Secondly, they are loaded nto comparatively *large wire baskets and then dipped in hot oil or hot brine for the purposeiof pre shrinkin the fish and for toughening or setting t e skin, andfor cookin themeat. Third-the baskets containing't e" fish are then partially drained and sometimes subjected to a steamingoperation after which -theyare placed in a room to drain and cool. Fourth, aftei "co oling', the baskets are empplaced on conveyors and 'with chances of further breakage.

tied upon the packing tables and the fish thus delivered to the packers who pack them one by onein the cans. Fifth, the cans containing the fish are in some instances sauced and passed through an exhaust box and.

the lids are then applied and double seamed. Sixth, the cans contain in the fish are then subjected to a final cooking and sterilizing operation when they are ready for labeling and shipment to the market.

The objections to this method are several. In the first step describedwhere the fish are assed through driers, the fish are tumbled and dropped from. one conveyor to another as several super osed conveyors are employed. This tumb ing and dropping of the fish tends to V bruise and break the fish and the skin.

When the fish are soft, it is almost impossible to dry them properly. Temperature control of drier is also diflicult. In the second step where the fish are loadedinto the baskets and submerged in hot oil, it must be considered that the fish are again handled baskets are fairly large and the fish are placed in contact and on top of each other several layers. This is objectionable as they have a tendency to adhere to each other and to the basket when cooled, due in part to the coating of oil which is left on the fish after submersion in the hot oil and to the glue formed by the skins. The oil coating oxidizes to some extent in a manner similar to a varmsh and becomes stlcky, and some glue is formed by theskins; hence, when the The fish are.dumped out on theopack ing tables,

the fish which adhere to'each other and to the baskets must be separated with the result that ieces of skin are pulled oil or the fish is br en. A loss of 10% or more of the fish by breakage and mutilation at this polnt is qulte common. 'Another and serious ob- I jection is the cooking of the fish in oil. Some packers emplo a bath of cotton-seed oil or the like in whlch'to cook the. fish, but

it, is obvious, that this may soon become 'mixed or substantially re laced by fish oil due to the oil rendered or riven outof each individual fish as it passes under the oil bath and to the carrying out of the original oil by the fish.v Most packers, however, use.

cotton-seed oil. little. diflerence as either cotton-seed oil or fish oillsoon becomes thick, artially rancid and decomposed due to oxi ation and evap- This makes comparatively sired, but conversely, detracts from the naturally sweet sardine flavor; and furthermore, the cooked fish picks up the flavor of the fry oil. The flavor of the brine-cooked fish is superior to that of the oil cooked'fish, but the appearance of the finish product when canned is such as to render the fish unsightly,-and not salable as the best pack.

Another objectionable feature is encountered in the third step where,- the fish are subjected to a cooling operation, i. e., after the fish have been cooked in the hot oil or hot brine and then drained and steamed, the baskets containing the fish are placed in a large room'where they are permitted to remain anywhere from ten to forty-eight hours, the object being that of allowing a further "small amount of shrinkage, draining off of oil and thoroughly cooling the fish before delivery .to the. packers who place them in the cans. This long period of standing is decidedly undesirable as it permits contamination, the cooked flesh is in contact with the uncooked bone which aids bacterial growth causing some putrification; moreover, the flesh tends to darken markedly when standing. The oil coating on the fish tends to become more or 'less rancid, thereby imparting a rancid taste to the fish.

The ob ect of the present invention is to generally improve and simplify methods of the character described and especially to provide a method of improvin the appearance of the fish, color of the fies and'flavor, of pre shrinking the fish and removing as much of the ,oil as possible, to accomplish these operations in a minimum of time with substantially no disturbance or handling of the fish, to-prevent contamination and putrification, and to prevent splitting or breaking the fish or. the skin, moreoveravoiding a 1011 cooling period.

or the purpose of describin the method forming the subject matter o the present application, reference will be made to the accompanying drawing which is a diagrammatic view of one form of apparatus which may be employed.

eferringto the drawing, A-indioates a main frame at the opposite ends of which are journalled shafts 2 and 3 carrying pulleys 4 and 5. Supported by thepulleys is an endless conveyor 6 which is preferabl constructed of a foraminous material, $110 as wire netting or the like. Power'mey be th transmitted to drive the endless conveyor in the direction of arrow a, for instance through means of .a driving pulley 6 and a 'belt 7. Disposed adjacent to one end of the with an air blower or the like and aheater and warm air are continuously projected downwardly against the surface of the conveyor and the fish supported. thereby. Arranged adjacent the opposite end of the conveyor is a cooler of the refrigerating type which is generally indicated at 10. The cooler consists of a housing, interior of which is mounted a series of coils 11 through which a refrigerating medium is circulated in any suitable manner. Any other suitable cooling apparatus may, however, be employed. Disposed intermediate the cooler 10 and the hot air delivering pipe 9 is a housing generally indicated at 12, and mounted interior thereof is a plurality of electric heating elements 13. The housing may be divided into three or more compartments as shown and the heating elements may be heated to varying temperatures so as to gradually heat the fish as the conveyor passes underneath, the heating ofv the fish being accomplished by the radiant heat energy projected by the radiant heating elements. a

In actual operation the fish to becanned are usually passed through a sealer after which the heads and entrails are removed and the fish are washed. This part of the operation is not disclosed in the diagraminatic drawing as standard methods or machinery are employed therefor and used in most canneries. After the fish are cleaned they fare delivered to a foram'inated conveyor indicated at 6.. The 'fish are spread out over the foraminated conveyor so as not to contact with each other and as the pass under the head 9' they are subjecte to a blast of warm dry air. The air dries off the water and it also partiall dries the fish, thereby tending to shrin the fish and harden the skin. During the continued movement of the 'jconveyor 6, the fish ass under the heater 12 where the fish wil be subjected to the radiant heat of the elements 13.. The fish are gradually brought up to adesired temperature and they arebroiled and are at the same time sufiiciently heated to render or drive out oil, the primary object being ,that of cookin the meat, setting the skin, removing as muc of the oil as possible, pro erl shrinking the fish, and improving t e avbr and appearance reparatory to cooling and placing the fis in the cans for the final cookin and sterilizin operation. After the fish ave'been broile ey pass through the cooler 10' and are here I rapidly cooled. The conveyor may be ex move oil and some water. The steps of scaling, cleaning, etc., and of placing the fish in the cans and of sealing and final cookin and sterilizing the same form no part 0 the present application as customary practice may there be resorted to. Suflice it to say, that it is desirable to pre-shrink the fish, broil the meat, imparting thereby a delectable flavor tothe meat, 'remove the oil, and handle the fish as little as possible as handling of the fish or contact of the'fish with each other tends. to bruise or break the fish and the skin. In the present instance,

pre-shrinking and broiling takes place without any handling whatsoever as the fish are not touched from the time they are delivered to the conveyor 6.until they are picked off by the packers. The preliminary drying operation such as subjecting the fish to a blast of hot'air or otherwise may or may not be employed as one or more units may be added to the radiant energy heater indicated at 12. Such units could be operated at lower temperatures and as such would serve the same function, to-wit, that of drying off the wash water and partially drying and hardening the skin, It' might also be statedthat the fish are brought up to temperature by the radiant energy so that dan er of bursting or splitting the skin of the h is substan tially eliminated. However,'if it is desired to increase the speed of the operation, it has been found that the oil may be liberated more rapidly by subjecting the fish to one or more perforating operations before the are subjected to the radiant energy. Suc

perforation maybe accomplished in :numer' ousways and illustration thereof is accord ingly thought unnecessary.

VVhilecertain features of the present invention are more or less specifically described and illustrated, I wish it understood that.

various chan es may be' resorted to within the scope of t e appended claims; similarly that the materials and finish of the severe parts employed may be such as the manufac-' to a drying action, to partially set the skin and liberate a portion of the water content, and secondly, subjecting the fish to a broiling action to cook' the flesh, further set the skin, and partially render the 'oil.

it has been cleaned and washed the steps which consist in first subjecting the fish to a drying action, to partial y set the skin and liberate a portion of the water content, and

secondly, subjecting the fish to a broiling action to cook the flesh, furtherlset the sk n,

and partiall render the oil, and third, subjecting the sh to. a cooling action.

3. A method of treating raw fish after it has been cleaned and washed which consists in passing the fish through a zone where'lt is subjected to radiant heat energy, the radiant heat serving the function, first of partially drying and hardening the skin and liberating a portion of the water content, and secondly, raisin the temperature of the fish sufliciently to roil the flesh, further set the skin, and partially render the 011.

4. A method .of treating raw fish after 1t has been cleaned and washed which consists in passing the fish 'through a zone where -it is sub'ected to radiant heat energy, the radiant heat serving the function first of partially drying and hardening the skin and liberating a portionof the water content, secondly, raisin the temperature of thefish sufliciently to roil the flesh, further set the skin, and partially render the oil, th1rd,

2. In a method of treating raw fish after and then passing the fish through a zone 5. Amethod of treatin raw. fish after it has been cleaned and was ed which consists in perforating the fish, passing the fish through a zone where it is subjected to sufiicient heat to d partially d an harden the skin, then subectin thezsh to a broiling action to shrink the fis further set the skln, broil the flesh, and .partialll render the oil, and then subjecting the fi sh to a cooling action.

DAVID B. ,PEEBLES.

off the wash water and. 

